Two governors

06:53 AM January 6th, 2013

Recommended

January 6th, 2013 06:53 AM

It’s about time our community and government think about imposing a gun ban considering the number of violent incidents involving firearms, the latest of which was the senseless killing of innocent people in Kawit, Cavite.

Last New Year, stray bullets injured scores of victims and killed 7-year-old Nicole Ella. I would go further and suggest that we consider banning the use of firecrackers during Christmas and New Year.

Many can’t fathom why there were still many victims of firecracker blasts in the last Christmas and New Year celebrations despite the massive information campaign of the government.

ADVERTISEMENT

If Davao City can effectively ban firecrackers I see no reason we can’t do the same in other cities. Basically it takes a lot of political will on the part of local government officials.

Given the difficulty of enforcing a ban, it’s best to consider a partial ban limited to the merrymaking during Christmas and New Year celebrations. Some consider the proposal a killjoy but with the high number of firecracker victims year in and year out, the proposal is timely and valid.

We can celebrate Christmas and the New Year without ear-splittling blasts that we have been used to.

* * *

Last Friday I had the opportunity to interview both the acting Cebu governor and the suspended governor on our TV program My Politics.

My interview with Acting Governor Agnes Magpale was done in the morning. I was amazed by her energy. She was in the office granting interviews as early as 7 a.m. My interview was scheduled at 10 a.m. and when I arrived, Magpale was still entertaining visitors from Carcar city.

In the interview, she was concerned with the precarious financial condition of the provincial government so much so that her administration is now prioritizing claims for payment. She emphasized the importance of being transparent in her administration and called for financial statements so she could start on a fresh slate.

Magpale admitted that Garcia has good projects worth pursuing like the Suroy Suroy Sa Sugbo though she is having it reviewed especially since some local government units find it difficult to finance the activity.

The e-Gwen program that promotes effective governance in the towns is also worth pursuing except for the name, she said. Magpale made it clear that she was acting governor by operation of law and if she is told by the proper authorities to leave, she would do so immediately.

I found Magpale full of humility, hard working and trying her best to serve the people of Cebu.

My interview with the suspended governor was moved to 1:30 p.m. that day . At her office, she was entertaining so many visitors it was as if she wasn’t suspended at all.

On the matter of Capitol finances, both Magpale and Garcia have their own assessment and may be right in handling it their own way. What is important is that both are working to pursue the interest of the people.

In my interview with Governor Gwen, she insisted the suspension order was not valid because it was not properly served. She questions the validity of the administrative complaint filed because it survived the death of the complainant, vice governor Greg Sanchez Jr.

She insists there was no valid substitution made because Sanchez’s daughter can’t be the successor in interest as this was not an inheritance case. For her, the daughter has no legal standing to continue the complaint of her late father.